Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Security Behind Risk Taking

Any transformation in life direction
begins with a choice to risk failure, and inevitably, the topic of
“risk-taking” comes up. The counter-balance to risk-taking is “security”. One
might hear, if not in these exact words, “I don’t like to take risks, because I
value security and stability.”

Unfortunately, words have a nasty
tendency to hide layers of meaning underneath them and thus imprison us in our
assumptions of what they mean.

Security is a word associated with safety
and comfort and freedom from danger. Whereas risk-taking is associated with the
opposite: ‘un-safety’, discomfort, and danger. Association with danger however
doesn’t tell us anything about the purpose of risk. What is it really?

To begin with, a risk is the anything
that involves the possibility of danger whether physically, emotionally,
financially, or even morally. From the moment we are born, there is a risk of
getting sick, getting hurt, getting killed, or making mistakes. Thus we are all
risk-takers because life is inherently dangerous. Being “risk-free” is always
an illusion. Therefore, the question whether of whether one likes or dislikes
taking risk is less important than the question of whether we have the
capability to make judgments about those dangers.

Risk-taking is what kids do when they are
climbing a tree or balancing themselves on a wall without a safety net. They do
it because they are testing the limits of their judgment and skills. And by
testing their limits, they not only strengthen their skills, but also learn how
to handle new challenges. In this way, good risk-taking is something that
builds up the judgment and resilience muscles. On the other hand, gambling on
slot machines builds up very little capability and judgment and thus it could
be said to be a “bad” risk.

Life becomes risky when we do not build
up our ability to deal with danger. Yet to build up our ability to deal with
danger requires us to expose ourselves to progressively greater levels of
danger. If you want to become a better firefighter, you have to learn how to
make decisions in dangerous circumstances. If you want to be successful in
relationships, you must open yourself up to being vulnerable. If you want to
learn how to survive in tough economic times, then you must be willing to
become entrepreneurial.

In the end, life is always changing and
moving, so what is the insecurity of not taking risks? The insecurity is that
if you have not fed yourself on a steady diet of “danger”, when the real danger
arrives, you will be ill equipped...and that is why there is actually security
behind the fear of taking risks!

Don’t lead a risky life. Take risks that
stretch you physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, professionally
and morally so that you can train and prepare yourself for life!